BUGS BUNNY: 80TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION: Blu-ray (Warner Bros. 1940-64) Warner Home Video
In the mid-1930’s, cartoon shorts’ producer, Leon Schlesinger was in search of a new creation to feature in his beloved Merrie Melodies franchise. Cartoon shorts were a growing concession in the Depression-era, and much beloved by audiences as ‘filler’ sandwiched between double features, trailers, news of day and other short subjects, designed to pad out the experience of going to the movies. Always skewed toward an adult audience, Schlesinger’s cartoons would eventually be absorbed into the Warner Bros. stable, and Schlesinger, cast out of the kingdom he had created largely from scratch. By then, ‘Bugs Bunny’ – that ‘waskally wabbit’, known for his manic charm, trademarked by a flippantly rendered ‘What’s up, doc?’ was already a household name. Yet, although a rabbit of such stature had marked its debut in Porky’s Hare Hunt (1938), it wasn’t until 2 years later, in Tex Avery's Oscar-nominated, A Wild Hare, that the iconography of this anthropomorphic, Brooklyn-born bunny, chomping on his carrots, was firmly cemented in the hearts and minds of movie goers. Bugs would, of course, go on to become the star of 160 cartoon shorts between 1940 and 1964, and, the official mascot of Warner Bros. Entertainment, one of a handful to actually receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Throughout his glory years, Bugs brutally pulled the wool over the eyes of many an antagonist, including the beloved, if simple-minded Elmer Fudd, dastardly Yosemite Sam, crudely absurd, Tasmanian Devil, and, egg-headed alien, Marvin the Martian, to name but a handful. Bugs’ most enjoyable sparring partner arguably remained the lisp-happy caustic fowl, Daffy Duck, whom he infamously chagrined time and again. “Duck season!” “Wabbit season!” “Shoot me now!” Hmmm…pronoun trouble!
With the exception of 1949's Rebel Rabbit, in
which Bugs turned to a life of crime to prove he was worth more than a bounty
of two cents, Bugs was usually the admittedly sly, but lovable underdog in
these shorts, etched into immortality by the likes of Tex Avery, Friz Freleng,
Bob Clampett and later, Chuck Jones, who skewed the action towards a beleaguered
Bugs being put upon by ruffians, brutes and gangsters, deserving of his playfully
inflicted revenge. “Ain’t I a stinker?” he would ask the audience. And
admittedly, he was, though fighting on the right side, and easily to
ingratiate himself as the feisty, rather than feckless funny man, cluing us
into his decisions even before the bad guys knew what was afoot. If imitation remains
the cheapest form of flattery than Bugs certainly stole from the best, his catchphrase,
“Of course, you realize ‘this’ means war!” scooped from Groucho Marx. Famously,
the decision to infuse Bugs with a Brooklyn brogue was made by ‘the man of a
thousand voices’ – Mel Blanc, seeing the beloved rabbit through his golden
years until Blanc’s own death in 1989. Rumored to suffer from a carrot allergy (although
there is nothing in Blanc’s biography to support this claim), Blanc often
chewed on celery – not carrots – to get the appropriately recorded chomping
sound for Bugs. And to be fair, the creation of Hollywood’s most celebrated
hare was not the work of one man, but a collective of creatives, toiling to
tweak the look and sound with each subsequent short until it was just right; a
handful of directors, and a small army of writers.
By 1942, Bugs Bunny reigned as Warner Bros. animated
star of the first magnitude, the character’s design streamlined by Robert
McKimson, directed with increasing popularity by Clampett, Freleng and Frank
Tashlin. Making the leap from Merrie Melodies to Looney Tunes in
1944, the same year Schlesinger sold his interests to the WB, Bugs continued on
an enviable trajectory, his free and easy attitude, an anathema to the rigors
and woes of WWII, his – now – infamous appearance in Bugs Bunny Nips the
Nips (1944), in which he uses derogatory dialogue to diffuse a situation
with the Japanese, being one of the irrefutable highlights from this period.
Prior to this, Bugs appeared in a war bonds promo, and even found time to proudly
don the garb of a U.S. Marine, earning him an honorary master sergeant’s
designation from the War Department. Throughout the war years, Bugs’ likeness
adorned the cause – his likeness painted on the sides of tanks, fighter bombers
and aircraft carriers. With an end to
the European conflict, Bugs returned to more familiar fare, entering his third
and final renaissance to see out the 1950’s. When Warner Bros. elected to shutter ‘Termite
Terrace’ (the name, affectionately given the quarters housing their animation
department) in 1964, Bug’s legacy could reflect upon appearances in well over
167 theatrical shorts making him, by far, Warner Bros. most prolific animated
star. During his final blossoming at the studio, Bugs also appeared in the
classic ‘Rabbit Season/Duck Season’ trilogy and also found time to spoof
both the Barber of Seville and Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen
in What’s Opera, Doc?; the latter, becoming the first cartoon short for
inclusion into the Library of Congress’s registry for preservation for its ‘cultural
significance’.
Ironically, even as Warner’s was winding down its
animation division, the studio launched The Bugs Bunny Show (1960-2000)
as a way to repackage and rebrand its old theatrical shorts as Saturday morning
kiddie fare on television. Interestingly, when Termite Terrace was finally
disbanded 4 years later, many of its creations were reborn at DePatie-Freleng
Enterprises or Seven Arts – all except for Bugs Bunny. Indeed, Bugs did not
make another appearance in any newly sanctioned material until 1976’s ‘Carnival
of the Animals’. Yet, in spite of this dearth, Bugs was more popular than ever
– creating a marketing bonanza in memorabilia; everything from T-shirts to
lunch boxes. And indeed, United Artists’ chose to pay homage with the documentary,
Bugs Bunny: Superstar (1975), after which Warner Bros. began its own
more aggressive rebranding with The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979),
followed by The Looney Despatie Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981), Bugs
Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982), and, finally, Daffy
Duck's Quackbusters (1988). This same year, Bugs also marked his cameo in
Disney/Touchstone’s animated all-star line-up, appearing with equal screen time
opposite Disney’s homegrown star, Mickey Mouse, in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Since the mid-1990’s Bugs Bunny has continued to make regular ‘new’ appearances
on television, and occasionally, at the movies – most prominently in 1996’s Space
Jam, opposite NBA superstar, Michael Jordan, a movie of dubious artistic
merits that nevertheless performed extremely well at the box office, grossing
over $230 million worldwide. As significant, Bugs became the very first
animated character to be featured on a U.S. postage stamp in 1997. Since then, Bugs
has been resurrected for a whole new generation, alas, with his wily nature
somewhat tempered to reflect today’s more PC-friendly straight-jacketing of pop
culture.
So, it is extremely refreshing to find that, on the 80th
anniversary of his creation, Warner Bros. has elected to answer the perennially
asked question – “What’s up, doc?” with ‘plenty’; marking their
celebration with the release of 60 of Bugs Bunny’s most beloved appearances from
Hollywood’s golden age. Aside: I sincerely hope it doesn’t take the studio
another 80 years to come around to the remaining 71 shorts still MIA on home
video. What is here gives an excellent representation of why Bugs Bunny
continues to be regarded as one of the most beloved pop icons of the 20th
century. The shorts featured span the girth of Bugs’ golden period, from 1940
to 1964, and, more or less, are showcased in chronological order. Important to note,
only 20 of the 60 in this set have ever been made available in 1080p Blu-ray
before, and virtually all have been given spanking new remasters in their
original aspect ratio herein to ensure optional viewing quality. The shorts
included in this compendium on Disc 1 of this 3-disc set: Elmer’s Candid
Camera (1940 – with a commentary from noted historian, Jerry Beck), A
Wild Hare (1940, commentary by Greg Ford), Hold the Lion, Please
(1942, commentary by Ford), Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942 – commentary
by Michael Barrier and Bob Clampett), Super-Rabbit (1943 – commentary by
Paul Dini), Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk (1943), What’s Cookin’ Doc?
(1944 – Beck, again), Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (1944 – commentary
by Stan Freberg), Hair Ribbin’ (1944 – Constantine Nasr), The Old
Grey Hare (1944 – Ford, again) Baseball Bugs (1946 – Eric Goldberg),
Hair-Raising Hare (1946 – with Ford, Barrier, and Lloyd Turner), Racketeer
Rabbit (1946), Bugs Bunny Rides Again (1948 – Ford), Haredevil
Hare (1948 – Barrier, with Pete Alvarado), Hot Cross Bunny (1948), Hare
Splitter (1948), Knights Must Fall (1949), What’s Up Doc?
(1950 – with Ford), and, 8 Ball Bunny (1950 – Beck).
On Disc 2 we get The Rabbit of Seville (1950 – commentary
by Eric Goldberg), Rabbit Every Monday (1951 – Ford, again), The
Fair-Haired Hare (1951 – with Constantine Nasr), Rabbit Fire (1951 –
with Ford and Chuck Jones), His Hair-Raising Tale (1951), Hare Lift
(1952), Upswept Hare (1953), Robot Rabbit (1953), Captain
Hareblower (1954), No Parking Hare (1954), Yankee Doodle Bugs
(1954), Lumber Jack-Rabbit (1953 – Beck), Baby Buggy Bunny (1954
– Nasr), Hare Brush (1955), This Is a Life? (1955), Rabbitson
Crusoe (1956), Napoleon Bunny-Part (1956), Half-Fare Hare
(1956), Piker’s Peak (1957), and, What’s Opera, Doc? (1957 – with
2 audio commentaries, the first from Chuck Jones, Michael Maltese, and Maurice
Noble, the second by Daniel Goldmark). Disc 3 features Bugsy and Mugsy
(1957 – and a personal favorite), Show Biz Bugs (1957 – with Ford), Hare-Less
Wolf (1958), Now Hare This (1958), Knighty Knight Bugs (1958
– with Beck), Hare-Arabian Nights (1959), Backwoods Bunny (1959),
Wild and Woolly Hare (1959), Bonanza Bunny (1959), People Are
Bunny (1959), Person to Bunny (1960), Rabbit’s Feat (1960 –
with Ford), From Hare to Heir (1960 – Ford, again), Compressed Hare
(1961), Prince Violent (1961), Shishkabugs (1962), The Million
Hare (1963), The Unmentionables (1963), and False Hare (1964
– with commentary by Jerry Beck).
In addition to these shorts, Warner Home Video has stockpiled
this set with a ton of goodies sure to delight, ranging in additional shorts, perhaps
not officially considered as part of Bugs’ canon of work, to outtakes,
featurettes and a full-fledged and newly produced, hour-long documentary on Bugs’
longevity. On Disc 1, we get the ‘What’s Up Doc-umentary!, plus a ‘director’s
cut of Hare Ribbin’; also, featurettes in SD - Forever Befuddled,
and, Bugs: A Rabbit for All Seasonings. In HD we get Mars Attacks!
Life on the Red Planet with My Favorite Martian, plus, alternate audio only
programs for Rabbit Fire, Baby Buggy Bunny and What’s Opera,
Doc?, plus the nearly hour-long ‘All Star 50th Anniversary’ special,
a featurette devoted to Chuck Jones’ ‘Wabbit Season’ trilogy, another
irreverent homage to Bugs, and a featurette devoted to the conception of What’s
Opera, Doc? On Disc 2, we get a ‘blooper’ from Bugs Bunny’s 51st
and a ½ Anniversary Spectacular, Hard Luck Duck, a featurette
devoted to Yosemite Sam, an oddly produced 3 ½ minute summary of Bugs’ legacy,
and full-fledged shorts made in 2020, presented in HD, but that frankly, pale
to the great stuff gone before them: Harm Wrestling, Pest Coaster,
Siberian Sam, Big League Beast, Buzzard School, Pool
Bunny, Grilled Rabbit, Vincent Van Fudd, Hare Restoration,
and finally, Interstitials: Plunger/Fishing Pole/Bees/Mini Elmer.
As per how all of this vintage Bugs-iana looks…well,
prepare to be dazzled, because the short answer here is ‘never better!’
All of the classic Warner Bros. cartoons have been given a certified image
upgrade in their original 1.33:1 Academy OAR, scanned from 35mm camera
negatives and cleansed of all age-related damage and debris. The good news here
is that none of these images look digitally scrubbed. The film-based patina
supports natural grain, slight variations in boldly saturated colors, and a
light speckling of baked-in dust, caught between the layers of cell-based
animation at the time it was photographed. The image is so refined, occasional
pencil lines, hand-painted brush strokes, and, other naturally occurring efforts
put forth by the animators can be seen. The audio here remains 2.0 mono Dolby
Digital. And while some may poo-poo the fact Warner did not go the extra mile
for a newly mastered DTS audio, what’s here sounds pretty close to perfection –
with the studio’s big and brassy main titles sparkling, and dialogue and
effects clearly delineated and sounding great. As already mentioned, the newly
produced documentary, hosted by Billy Crystal, is by far the most richly
rewarding extra in this set. Virtually all of the other swag came from
previously released Looney Tunes sets, dating all the way back to the ‘Platinum’
edition DVD’s. In an hour, Crystal manages to crystalize and contextualize the
enduring legacy of Bugs Bunny, offering great insight and a few surprises along
the way, intercut with clips from all your favorite vintage shorts, rare
photographs, behind-the-scenes footage, artwork, as well as new and archival
interviews from the men behind the rabbit who made everything possible. You can’t
really call yourself a Bugs Bunny cinephile without having seen this comprehensive
documentary. Lastly, Warner has packaged this set with one of those ugly little
Funko Pop figures that seem to have acquired renown and appeal. Personally, I
think they’re hideous. But what do I know? Bottom line: Bugs Bunny: 80th
Anniversary Collection is a stunner of a box set, and just in time for the
kid in us all to re-enjoy the zany antics of one of the studio’s greatest and
most enduring assets. Very highly recommended!
FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)
Overall - 5+
VIDEO/AUDIO
4.5
EXTRAS
5+
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